Ouija

1

"Abby!" I heard Mom downstairs, "Coming!" I yelled back as I grabbed my bag, combed my hair for the last time, and ran downstairs.

"The house smells like pancakes," I said and then saw her pouring honey over a bunch of fluffy pancakes, 

"Because I made them." Mom replied and went back into the kitchen, 

"Thank you, Mom," I said, and keeping the bag on the couch, I sat on the table. The pancakes were still hot; I scrolled through my texts. Just then I felt Cookie sneaking below me on my legs, then looking up at the pancakes. You could look in his eyes once, and he would have you melted. He nudged his nose to my knee, and I understood that today's breakfast was in sharing.

Cookie was that type of golden retriever that would show love to you only when you'd have his favorite foods. Otherwise, you'd find him in a corner of the house sleeping on his back, or on Mom's bed, tucked in the covers. 

"I know, I know. I'm sharing this with you." I told him as he shifted closer to me, not breaking eye contact with the pancakes. I took a little piece, blew air on it to cool it down, and tossed it, and Cookie caught it. He would win the entire Olympics if food catching was a sport.

"Till when will you be back home, honey?" Mom asked as she folded her apron, keeping it on the counter, then sat next to me.

"Around six."

"Okay, take the keys with you."

"Another night shift?"

She nodded, sighing. Out of seven days in a week, she has night shifts for almost five of them. Mom worked as a nurse in one of the renowned hospitals. Her workplace was about 13 miles, off-coast. The hospital was in a process of hiring new nurses which is why Mom had to fill in for shortages.

After finishing the breakfast, I shoved the keys in my pocket and ran out to the door. I was going to be late again. On my way to the bus stop, I called Rosa. 

"Where are you? Mr. Sanders will be here any minute," she said as soon as she picked up,

"Just tell him I had an accident on the way, I'm running as fast as I can."

I heard her sigh, "I doubt if he'll believe me, but alright. Hurry." 

"Make him believe, you're my best friend for a reason," I argued,

"Try waking up on time then," I felt her eye roll,

"I love you too, see you!" I said and continued running.

I reached the stop just in time as the bus driver nodded when he saw me, "And you're late again, Miss D'Costa." He said,

"Thank you for waiting for me, Mr. Walters," I said smiling,

"Alright now go on, take your seat." He smiled back and soon we hit the roads. I tried calming my panting self and looked out the window. Everything was still the same, especially the vibes of this place. Trees ran past us, winds brushed my hair away from my face, and there was a different kind of a smell, a mesmerizing one, of the soil that floated around. Just then, I saw a girl, blonde, on the side of the road. She looked at the bus as we passed her, but the thing was, the bus went a little too close to her, yet she didn't flinch. 

Her eyes didn't blink, as if she didn't see the bus at all. Her legs were stoned to the same spot as I turned to see her. "Mr. Walters, take it slow, please. We could've hit that girl." I told him,

He arched his eyebrows, "What girl?" he asked looking at all his mirrors to see the road behind us. I looked back again and she was still standing there, "That girl right there, the blonde." I pointed it out for him to see,

"Miss D'Costa, there is no girl there, haven't you slept well?" He brushed the topic off. Am I hallucinating? Could I be hallucinating to the point where I could list out the details of that girl's face?

We reached my college in the next five minutes, "Here we are." He said. Hooking my bag on my shoulders, I walked towards the steps, "Thank you, sir." I said and got off the bus, running towards my class.

Upon reaching, I saw Mr. Sanders was not in the class. I made my way next to Rosa and drank half of the water in my bottle. "Finally, she's here," Rosa said, sarcastically, "You're lucky the professor just stepped out of some files."

I sighed in relief, "Did he ask about me?"

"Not really."

"Thank god. Also, there was this really strange thing that happened today." I said,

"Strange, as in?"

I was about to narrate the incident just when the professor walked in with a bunch of files and folders in his hands. "Good morning, buttercups!" He said with his college-famous, thousand-watt smile. And that is how the day began. 

After that class, we had a few reports to finish, assignment deadlines to meet, and work on some event outlines for the upcoming fest. I and Rosa were the one who handled the entire social media department of the college. Among all the rush today, I forgot about the incident of the morning. It flushed out of my mind completely.

...

Hours went by and it was half-past five already. "I don't feel like going home." She said,

"Why?"

"Mom's mad at me. I don't want to deal with her today." She sighed, 

"Come over then?"

"Another night shift of hers?" she asked, 

I nodded,

"Alright, let's go. I am really hoping you have food at home."

"You're lucky today."

We decided to walk to my house because apparently, she had a lot to tell me for which she needed a lot of time. I messaged Mom that we are walking home, and continued listening to Rosa's eternal talks. We were a mile away from my home when someone tapped my back and I felt a ball roll over my feet.

I turned around, it was that little girl. One I completely forgot about. Seeing her up close, my skin had goosebumps all over, from my hair to the tip of my shadow. She was blonde, wearing a pastel pink floral dress, in some white muddy shoes. Her eyes had more eyebags than they should for a toddler and her face was paler than ever, "Could you please get that for me?" she asked pointing at the ball. When she spoke, the creases around her lips seemed very unnatural.

"Uh, yeah of course." I picked up the ball and handed it to her. When she took it from my hand, her fingers brushed against mine, and they were so cold. The skin around her nails felt like it could wither at any time, also turning a darker shade of purple. 

"Thank you," she said, her voice was overly mature for her age, 

"Hey kid, are you alright?" Rosa asked looking at her, "Do you need any help?"

"Can I come to you if I do?" she asked looking at both of us,

"Of course, you can." 

She then turned to look behind her, then turned to look at something behind us. "You can come to me if you need any help too," she told us, "I feel like you're going to need my help soon." 

She turned around and started walking opposite us. 

We looked at each other, dumbfounded. "What was that?" Rosa asked,

"I wish I knew."

***